Reconnecting With The Environment

The two founders, Kevin Liang and Eric Suen, began working on the EcoQube when they were in high school. They have now created their own company called Aqua Design Innovations.

Their goal was to help people reconnect with the environment. The aquarium is a small start, but the technology behind it is what makes the tank truly innovative.

The beautiful, yet simple desktop aquarium uses aquaponics to maintain the tank and grow plants at the same time.

The food production method is used to grow fish and food together while using less space. Food grows up to 50% faster and uses 90% less water.

The team at ADI designed the EcoQube as a way to bring this technology to more people and bring aquaponics front and center. When more people are aware, agriculture can change for the better so fewer people go without food or fresh water.

Self-Sustaining System

Many people avoid aquariums because they are difficult to care for. Algae builds up and requires you to chase fish around, transferring to a spare tank so you can clean the main tank.

It is time consuming and messy.

The EcoQube is different.

It uses a self-sustaining cycle that drastically reduces the amount of work it takes to maintain.

How The EcoQube Works

The aquarium works in a constant three step cycle:

Fish eat and leave behind ammonia-rich waste. Ammonia is then broken down into nitrates by bacteria in the water.

A plant medium filters the water. The plant takes in nutritious nitrates for growth.

Clean water is returned to the aquarium.

The main tasks you will be responsible for are feeding your fish and maintaining the water level. These two tasks only take a few minutes at most.

4 Simple Parts of the EcoQube Desktop Aquarium

The tank itself is made up of four simple components:-

The LED light sits above the plant to provide the necessary light the plant needs to grow. It also lights up the aquarium.

An LED UV sterilizer light aids in the removal of bacteria in the tank from over feeding fish or from introducing new fish.

The aquaponics filter sits directly below the plant and filters water between the plant and tank.

The final components are the aquarium and its base.

The overall design is simple, yet innovative.

The filter is designed to never need replacing. The small two inch filter pumps 100 gallons per hour. This keeps water fresh.

Combined with the UV LED, water remains clear and algae free. With very little maintenance, the tank stays clean and fish happy.

The Successful Kickstarter Campaign

The ADI team turned their EcoQube into a reality through a successful Kickstarter campaign. It began at the end of November, 2013. The campaign results were more than double the original goal of $39,000. The campaign ended in mid January, 2014.

Successful Kickstarter Campaign

Some early adopters were able to get the first EcoQubes. The aquarium is now officially for sale along with all the common components you need to fill and care for your tank.

The EcoQube In Use

Aqua Design Innovations recommends using either basil or mint for your plant. During testing, these two plants worked best.

15 thoughts on “EcoQube: The Best Desktop Aquarium?”

Aquaponics systems are wonderful setups to own and maintain, however this system is not only grossly overpriced, but it is unsustainable for any type of aquatic life. Even betta fish require 2.5 gallons of space in order to thrive, and in the advertised setup you have, the tank is so full with decorations the fish would have no swimming space. If this tank was twice the size, the price would be reasonable and livable for fish.

The small bettas can survive decently in 2 gallons, unless you’re talking the large size ones like channoides. A few alternatives that are small enough to thrive would be like cherry shrimps, guppies and apple snails. I’m pretty sure they will come up with a bigger tank option in time to come.

I change my aquarium water every week. It’s quite a chore having to set up the gravel vacuum, extract the algae, filter the water, etc. In fact, I forget about it on occasions too. Eradicating all that hassle is definitely a huge benefit for the busy owners like myself!

Reminds me of the fish that “cleans up” the bottom of the tank… that bottom tank feeder. I like their idea of adding a plant to utilize the waste nitrates. The aquaponic plant sitting on the top is practically a world tree that maintains the health of the entire aqua environment. Quite simple but ingenius.

My colleague brought his Eco Cube aquarium into the company’s office to sort of share the joy. I love to stare at it whenever I brainstorm for ideas. It somehow gives me inspiration while I immerse myself in its serenity.

I do look odd standing there gazing in the midst of my work, my colleagues even laugh at me; but hey, I get the job well done.

Agreed with Wayward Loki, this is not suitable for fish life at all. Maybe a couple snails or shrimp or simply plant life. As former “fish enthusiasts” you should absolutely know better than to do this. It is cruel to the animals.

This is not acceptable for fish, especially multiple fish. It’s disappointing. As people who clearly have experience in aquariums and fish stores, it seems obvious that you know this and simply do not care. All about the money, no thought to the animals. Simply terrible.

I bought an EcoCube C and after 5 weeks it went in the garbage. The filter gets plugged every 2 or 3 days, the plastic got warped so the lid didn’t stay on, the plant medium melted away… and the list goes on and on…

This was the only kickstarter item that I’ve bought which failed miserably….

I have the Ecoqube working for 5 months.
Pros:
1-The ecosystem really works: I didn’t chande the water in 5 months.
2- Fishes like the media. Even in that six¡ze of aquarium, i have 2 shrimps, 1 snail, 1 guppy and 2 nano guppys, and they live very well
Cons:
1-Low quality materials. The cover plastic and the upside acrilic plastic are bending. The leds stopped working, but I got a replacement free of charge
Conclusion: The quality could be better, but the system works flawessly. I will create my own system in an 4 gallons aquarium in the next days